


and you got me going crazy

by kyaappucino



Category: VIXX
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, first time writing this sorta thing xD, my a/b/o dynamics are a little different i guess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-29
Updated: 2016-09-10
Packaged: 2018-06-05 05:42:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6691894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyaappucino/pseuds/kyaappucino
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It had all started as an innocent game, really. Jaehwan would take beta shots and pretend to be the big, bad beta that would beat up anyone who would come close, leaving Hakyeon free to be the diva he was born to be. Completely reinventing themselves—wasn’t that what college was all about?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I swear this was supposed to be a neo fic...then hyuken jumped out at me before I realized what was happening;;; it's tagged as underage because Hyuk is a senior in high school, but in the end I couldn't bring myself to make things happen yet. xD 
> 
> Anyway -- it turned into a completely different beast than expected, but I like it, overall. I'll continue my other writing projects soon ^^ just wanted to try something new.

His two older omega sisters had always taught him to share, but sometimes—once in a while—Taekwoon thought it was all right to be a little bit selfish, to keep things to himself. His innermost thoughts, his dreams, his secrets—and now he adds Hakyeon to that small pile, the small pile of things he can keep to himself. Taekwoon was an alpha, after all—and aren’t alphas allowed to stake their claim?

The problem is Hakyeon, contemporary dance major, is a popular omega. And with good reason; Hakyeon is considered a very _attractive_ omega because according to rumors—he has never been claimed before. The fresh smell of unclaimed omega runs strong through the corridors and the only reason why nobody’s grabbed Hakyeon while he’s in heat is because of his best friend. The equally popular beta Lee Jaehwan, communications major. 

“You want a piece of _that_ , hyung?” Kim Wonshik stares, wide-eyed as Taekwoon nods sagely. They were both watching Cha Hakyeon as he laughed, talking with Jaehwan who had his arm wrapped protectively around Hakyeon’s trim waist. “He’s rejected _Seo Inguk_ , for crying out loud.” The older boy’s gaze flits towards Seo Inguk, the quarterback who currently was receiving a piece of meat from his girlfriend of the week’s chopsticks. It wasn’t uncommon for alphas to date around; omegas were pliant and eager to interact with the alphas before they scurried off to their own classes.

Lunch, dismissal and free period—apart from school assemblies and sports—were the only times the betas and omegas ever _saw_ the alphas. “So?” Taekwoon mumbles into his ddeokbokki. “I still want him.”

“You’re hopeless.” Wonshik said, sighing. “Why don’t you take your pick from the other omegas? Don’t tell me nobody wants you, hyung.”

“Nobody wants Taekwoon-hyung?” Asks a dulcet voice, and Wonshik’s eyes light up immediately. “Hey baby,” he says, turning to look at his photography major boyfriend, Lee Hongbin. “Hey.” He leans down and presses his lips to Wonshik’s cheek chastely—no excessive PDA allowed in their university—before taking a seat to his left, sandwiched between Wonshik and Taekwoon. The scent of Hongbin’s ‘I’m taken’ pheromones wafted delicately through the Alpha Table, causing more than a few to scrunch their noses. It wasn’t an offensive smell, truly—just a little different than what they were used to.

“Taekwoon-hyung wants the pickiest omega on campus,” Wonshik explains while Hongbin helps himself to some of Wonshik’s gimbap. “Oh, Hakyeon-hyung. Hyung, are you a masochist or something?” Hongbin asks through a particularly large bite of gimbap. “I saw him hand over coffee to an omega—turns out it was from an alpha.”

Taekwoon’s brows furrowed in frustration. “Damn. And Mingyu _only_ offers coffees to omegas that he’s interested in.” Talk about playing hard to get. Even he couldn’t resist the lure of Mingyu’s signature coffee (but then again, Taekwoon could never resist the siren song of caffeine) but somehow, Hakyeon had gotten the balls to hand it over to someone else? “Does anyone know why he’s like that?”

“You’d have to ask Jaehwan-hyung for that,” Hongbin said as the bell rang loudly through the cafeteria. Wonshik handed Hongbin a can of fruit juice, which he accepted happily.  “If you can even get close to them.”

Hongbin bade Wonshik and Taekwoon goodbye as he grabbed his backpack and headed off to his next class, while the remaining boys took their time finishing their food. Around them, betas and omegas were busily tidying up and heading out, leaving the alphas behind. The minute Taekwoon finished his food, he grabbed his tray and headed for the wash-up station. He was still deep in thought when he placed his plate and utensils in the washbasins, so he didn’t notice when he bumped into somebody, knocking them to the floor.

“Ah, sorry about that,” he mumbled, bowing slightly.

“You’re an alpha, why are you bowing to me?” quipped the voice, and Taekwoon knelt down to help them up. It was then he locked eyes with Cha Hakyeon for the first time, and his scent—much like the first rain of summer—assaulted his five senses; choked his entire being from the inside out.

Ah. He definitely wanted Cha Hakyeon, and it was only due to the suppressants that he could keep his cool.

“I bumped into you, it’s only polite.” His hand was outstretched, long fingers waiting for Hakyeon. He seemed a little confused, but a small smile graced his features and it looked like he was about to take the hand that was offered.

So Taekwoon was completely surprised when another hand swatted his away—and a worried voice said, “Are you all right, Hakyeon-hyung? Did he hurt you?”

Hakyeon turned and gave Lee Jaehwan a stunning smile. “Nah, he just…apologized to me. I’m fine, Jaehwannie. Walk me to class?” As Jaehwan helped Hakyeon up, Taekwoon stood upright again and stood there, transfixed as he watched Jaehwan _nie_ inspect Hakyeon for any bumps or bruises, much to the other man’s dismay. “I said I’m fine, let’s just—let’s just go.”

They both left quickly, leaving Taekwoon alone, staring at his hand before balling it into a fist.

“Well,” Wonshik said as Taekwoon returned. “that was rude of him.” Taekwoon hummed in agreement. It wasn’t like he meant for Hakyeon to fall down. They were the last of the alphas to leave the cafeteria, and as they walked to their respective classes (Wonshik had Music Theory while Taekwoon had Child Development 101) Taekwoon wondered how to breach the wall known as Lee Jaehwan, the blonde communications major.

* * *

 

“Is it true?” Yoseob hissed at him as Taekwoon took notes with his laptop. “Why’d you apologize to Cha Hakyeon?” Taekwoon wasn’t looking at him, but knew that he was listening. “I bumped into him, it was an accident, hyung.” That elicited a chuckle from his classmate as Yoseob turned to the whiteboard and copied down the lecture into his notebook. “You’re one crazy alpha, you know that?”

Taekwoon merely shrugged. He’d heard that all throughout his life—ever since he’d gotten the test results six months ago that he was a bona fide alpha, born to a beta household. He was still polite to both betas and omegas, despite society insisting that he was above such things.

His mother had raised him properly, after all.

* * *

 

Lee Jaehwan sighed deeply as he walked his best friend to his next class, pressing a bottle of beta pills into Hakyeon’s hands. “So you’re sure you’re fine?” Cha Hakyeon nodded. “He bumped into me and I’m the one who fell down…his shoulders were so broad. But he wasn’t going to do anything.” Jaehwan shrugged. “Probably on suppressants.” There were only a few days left before Hakyeon went into heat and he’d noticed the alphas staring at the way Hakyeon walked, talked—even the mere turn of his head was enough to make lesser alphas go wild.

“Mm.” Hakyeon hummed as he popped two Beta pills into his mouth. The alphas were secluded from the betas and omegas so that the school wouldn’t have to worry about any omega girls (or boys) getting pregnant. But still, it was good to be prepared—there was no telling how strong the urge was in any of the alphas. If the pills weren’t enough, there was always Jaehwan.

“I’m sorry you have to babysit me all the time though, Jaehwannie.” That earned a laugh from the blonde-haired boy, his eyes sparkling. “You kidding me? I get to hang out with you and watch all those alpha boys and girls pulled down from their pedestals. It’s awesome. I hope your mate appreciates the effort you’re making, whoever they are.”

They were in front of Hakyeon’s literature class, and he murmured, “Well…if he doesn’t find me soon I’ll just have to submit to you, won’t I, Jaehwannie?” into his ear. Hakyeon delighted in seeing the flushed look on Jaehwan’s face and walked into his classroom, giggling all the while.

* * *

 

Taekwoon had gotten the text while he was having a test on psychology. He was about to ignore it and shut off his phone when a barrage of texts came in, making his poor smartphone do flips in his pocket—which wasn’t good for him or his pants. “Sir,” he’d whispered to the proctor. “can I go to the bathroom? It’s an emergency.”

The proctor raised his eyebrow. Jung Taekwoon sighed and fished his phone out of his pocket and dropped it onto the proctor’s table, where it vibrated violently. “My parents might be texting me right now—do you mind if I take a few minutes?”

His proctor for the psychology exam looked as if he didn’t believe a word Taekwoon was saying, and he was already getting irritated.

“ **Let me go**.” His voice dropped an octave and he let out a soft growl. The proctor stared at him, unaffected.

He should have realized that his proctor was a beta. Since he was in front of the proctor anyway, Taekwoon unlocked his phone and read a few of the messages his cousin was frantically sending:

**Hyuk** – Hyung, are you there? I FORGOT MY SUPRESSANTS AND WE HAVE PE NEXT PERIOD – HELP. I CAN SMELL THEM. TT – TT

**Hyuk** – HYUNG I NEED YOU NOW

**Hyuk** – If they kick down the door of the boys’ bathroom and you don’t come YOU SUCK HYUNG

“How old is he?” The proctor asked, curious. “My cousin? He’s a senior in high school.” Sighing, the proctor said, “I’m not permitted to let you leave the room until your exam is finished. But since this is an alpha emergency, we’ll just reschedule your exam.”

Taekwoon grabbed his bag and left his unfinished exam paper on the table, rushing to the senior high school, behind the Education building. As he left his class, he could hear some irritated and sympathetic hums from his classmates. He really couldn’t care less—the only thing that mattered now was that he reached Sanhyuk first, before a mob of omegas did.

* * *

 

It wasn’t that Han Sanhyuk was a disobedient boy, he was just…forgetful. When he’d grabbed his duffel bag that morning, he’d forgotten to pack his suppressants after taking them the other day. Now, he was a very nervous high school senior, locked up in a stall in the 4th floor boys’ bathroom, sitting on the toilet with the lid on.

The smell of inquisitive omega was powerful beyond the doors of the bathroom. If he concentrated hard enough, he could hear the murmurs and whispers of young female omegas; their shame in breaching the boys’ bathroom his only defense at the moment. He shivered as he heard the females talking to someone who sounded distinctly male, who pushed the door of the bathroom open and walked inside. The girls were whispering, but he heard them anyway with his sharp ears:

“Oppa, could you please see who it is? He just…he just smells so good…” Sanhyuk swallowed. The female omega wasn’t sounding too bad herself, and he had no doubt that the moment their eyes met, she would be begging. He didn’t want that.

Why didn’t any girl in his school understand?

“I will, I will.” The sound of the voice was sweet, yet not so. He smelled incredible, honestly. To Sanghyuk, the boy smelled of cinnamon hot chocolate and he was filled with the desire to jump out of the bathroom stall. Sanghyuk trembled and curled up even further inside of himself, afraid of what he would do if he moved.

He desperately needed his hyung.

“Hey,” the voice called, and to Sanghyuk’s alpha brain it sounded so seductive. “Where are you?”

The high school boy swallowed a whimper and hoped that Taekwoon would arrive, and deal with whoever this was.

“It’s okay. I’m a beta. You can come out.”

The voice sounded so trusting and soft, it seemed to be stroking Sanhyuk’s back, soothing his every fear.

His hands shook as he opened the door of the bathroom stall and when Sanhyuk saw the boy that was when his brain went into overdrive, screaming out loud: _mate_.

* * *

 

Taekwoon ran until his legs gave out, all the way to the high school building. As he walked up the stairs, following Sanhyuk’s scent, there was another, very familiar smell that probed at his senses. He was confused. What was Jaehwan doing up in the high school?

When he heard a high-pitched scream and felt a surge of powerful magic, it was during those times he wished he was strong enough to actually morph into a wolf. But wolf transformations were exclusive to wilder wolves, during simpler times. Nowadays alphas in the city retained the physiology, but not the transformation.

He took the stairs two at a time and when he arrived at the bathroom, a group of girls were running away, eyes blown wide and their hair messy.

“Sanhyuk?” He called, sidestepping the girls. “H-hyung,” his voice came from inside a bathroom stall, his scent mixing in with Jaehwan’s. When he saw them, Sanhyuk was still clothed (and so was Jaehwan, thank God) but he was already straddling Jaehwan, and the older boy had his throat bared, ready for marking.

Instinctively, Taekwoon said, “ **Off**.” Sanhyuk felt a whine build up in his throat, but he was still a minor alpha—he couldn’t fight a fully grown one. He tried to obey, but his legs just wouldn’t move. Taekwoon growled and grabbed Sanhyuk, forcibly lifting the boy over his shoulder. “What are you doing here?” He asked Jaehwan, who looked a little dazed and rushed to cover the growing tent in his pants, sitting up.

“I…usually pick up my younger brother at this time.” Taekwoon held back a wriggling Sanhyuk and reached into his pocket, pulling out a pillbox. “Here. Take them. Quickly.” Sanhyuk shook his head and said softly, “They won’t work anymore, hyung. That’s…that’s my mate.”

Jaehwan looked up at Taekwoon. “Yeah, hyung. Put…put him down.”

Taekwoon glared at Jaehwan, his eyes cold. “And allow him to rut into you? I don’t think so. Not here. Not now. Jaehwan, leave. Please. I don’t want Sanhyuk to get expelled over this.”

At the words ‘expelled’ Jaehwan seemed to regain some of his senses. He looked at Sanhyuk, wriggling over Taekwoon’s shoulder, desperate to jump his bones. “Taekwoon-hyung,” he said, practically spitting out Taekwoon’s name, “I’m the one with a boner and you want me to leave, right now?”

Taekwoon considered this, and looked at Sanhyuk. “I’m taking you home. Do whatever you want with him off of school grounds, cousin. But not here.”

As the taller boy dragged the protesting high-school student away, Jaehwan sighed as he threw himself into the nearest bathroom stall and locked the door. He was a beta, he kept reminding himself. A beta. So it wouldn’t take as long to jack himself off, but he wasn’t prepared for the strength of the soul bond magic. They were both upset that they couldn’t just get it on immediately—it was on a level that ached so badly Jaehwan felt Sanhyuk’s whining in his ears and suddenly the grip on his own cock grew tighter.

He was in so much trouble with Hakyeon later, but he didn’t care.

There was only one thing he needed right now, and that was his mate.

God _damn._ He should have known that the beta shots would be ineffective once the soul bond took over.

Lee Jaehwan, the boy who had been taking beta shots ever since he’d gotten his omega results after stepping foot into campus—

He’d become undone by a high school senior who had absolutely no idea.

_How am I going to tell Hakyeon-hyung about—oh, god. Sanhyuk. Fuckfuckfucking Sanhyu_ —when Jaehwan came, it was with Sanhyuk’s name on his lips, sitting on the toilet in the 4th floor of the boys’ bathroom, in the high school building.

Karma really _was_ a bitch.

* * *

 

_“Hey Hakyeon?” Jaehwan had asked the summer before they were due to go to college, his hands winding around Hakyeon’s middle. The tanned omega boy turned and grinned at him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Yeah?”_

_“Know what would be fun?” When Hakyeon shook his head, Jaehwan licked a stripe up Hakyeon’s ear and whispered, “You, putting all those alphas on campus in their place.” A shiver went up Hakyeon’s spine, hot and delicious. “Mmm. That does sound good…tell me more.”_

It had all started as an innocent game, really. Jaehwan would take beta shots and pretend to be the big, bad beta that would beat up anyone who would come close, leaving Hakyeon free to be the diva he was born to be. Completely reinventing themselves—wasn’t that what college was all about?

It had worked well enough for the first two years.

Now, Jaehwan thought as he pulled up his pants, it was game over.

He breathed out a long, deep sigh. At least he was one of the omegas that worked out, one of the omegas that had biceps and wouldn’t allow himself to become the soft, effeminate type that seemed to populate the entire campus.

After thoroughly washing his hands, he grabbed his phone and texted Hakyeon.


	2. Swan in Flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before he knows what’s happening, he starts to dance. The entire room is enveloped in silence and this is where Hakyeon can truly be himself. His entire body is made for dancing; every sweep of his arm conveyed a message. He can feel the tears pooling in his eyes as he thinks of the accidental touches, the rough way an alpha once grabbed his arm, proclaiming it to be thin and lovely—that he was a beautiful omega.
> 
> He never asked to be one, it was just something he was born as.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry this is late. ^^; but either way, I finally reached some direction for this story, because of a kind anon who participated in the Fanfic Writer’s Meme I posted up on Tumblr. So, thank you anon! I hope you guys enjoy this update—I had fun writing it. 
> 
> Also--;w; if there are any SONEs out there that are reading this, pls don’t kill me if they’re out of character, huhu

When Hakyeon receives Jaehwan’s text, he’s scared out of his mind—Jaehwannie meeting his mate means that he’ll need someone else to look after him when Jaehwan disappears to visit his younger boyfriend.

( _“Mate, hyung—he’s my mate!”_ he can hear Jaehwan’s voice now, correcting him, flustered.)

Mates and lovers were the same thing in their city, and he has yet to discover a mated pair that weren’t lovers. There’s ten minutes left til the end of dance class and he bites his lip. He needed Jaehwan—as close as they were, he was also the only person that could protect him without wanting to jump his bones.

He sends Jaehwan a quick reply on their KakaoTalk group—he’d been so excited to tell Hakyeon about meeting his mate, he’d forgotten that Hakyeon no longer used text messaging services.

**Jyan** i: I think I found my mate (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و

**Divayeon** : That’s amazing, Jaehwannie! (°◡°♡).:｡ But … are you still picking me up later? (❁°͈▵°͈)

“Cha Hakyeon—break’s over.” When he hears his beta dance teacher Hakyeon throws his phone back into his duffel bag. Hopefully Jaehwan will still pick him up—if his mate doesn’t grab him and drag him to the nearest empty classroom.

_“Ugh. Yeon, don’t. Not all alphas are like this.”_ He shakes his head when he remembers Taeyeon-noona’s words before she graduated. He’d been saying that male alphas existed only to jump on unsuspecting omegas.

_“Don’t let a few bad experiences harden your heart towards alphas. Some of them are really nice.”_ He had hugged her and proclaimed that none would be as kind as her, and that had drawn out a laugh from Taeyeon. “Well noona, I hope you’re right.” He mumbles to himself, zipping up his bag and leaving the break room. Maybe somewhere out there was an alpha who could control himself.

There was a flash of dark, intense cat eyes in the back of his head and he shivers. Among the omegas and the betas, Jung Taekwoon was infamous. He hadn’t been exclusively seen with anyone, like himself.

But unlike himself, Taekwoon was an alpha—so there was no worry about anyone accidentally running their nails on his thigh, or being scared of a group of people every single time he lined up to buy something from a convenience store.

Many things had changed after the law had introduced alpha suppressants, beta shots and beta pills. For that he was forever grateful. Maybe someday they would introduce a drug or patch that could help suppress omega heat, too.

Sighing deeply, he stands up and goes back, facing the mirrored wall where their dance teacher is waiting. Normally dance classes were Hakyeon’s safe space. Amongst his fellow beta and omega classmates, he could let go and dance without feeling like someone wanted to eat him alive. He sits down between Minhyuk and Amber, trying to concentrate on what their teacher is saying.

“Free dance. Let’s see what you’ve learned so far this semester. How are your dance routines?” There’s a collective groan from the entire class and the beta dance teacher chuckles. “Come on now, don’t tell me only Hakyeon has a rough idea of what he wants to do.”

A girl with wavy dark-brown hair raises her hand. “I’d like to demo.” Hakyeon sucks in a breath of air and tucks his legs underneath his body—it’s Seohyun.

The way she moves is completely different from his own, and yet still so captivating. Her hair rippled behind her in smooth, glossy waves as she moved and although it was beautiful, there was a serene sort of sadness when she moved forward, left foot in front of her right.

In his mind’s eye he saw a swan taking flight as Seohyun raises both arms and twirls, effortless and lovely. She finishes her demonstration by holding her hand out to the audience—a clear invitation to join her to dance. She looks out towards the audience, her eyes bright. He fights the urge to stand up and accept; instead he starts to applaud and the class follows.

Amber shoots him a look and he smiles in reply, eyes crinkling. “She was really good,” he mouths.

“Excellent demo, Seohyun. Any more takers?” Their dance teacher’s eyes scan the class and most avoid his eyes, completely shy.

Inspired by Seohyun’s performance, Hakyeon raises his hand. Contemporary dance is one of his best subjects, and today is no exception. After receiving a nod of acknowledgement from his dance teacher, Hakyeon pulls himself up, dusts himself off and changes the music to a melancholic piano instrumental.

Before he knows what’s happening, he starts to dance. The entire room is enveloped in silence and this is where Hakyeon can truly be himself. His entire body is made for dancing; every sweep of his arm conveyed a message. He can feel the tears pooling in his eyes as he thinks of the accidental touches, the rough way an alpha once grabbed his arm, proclaiming it to be thin and lovely—that he was a beautiful omega.

He never asked to be one, it was just something he was born as. Memories of taking beta pill after beta pill in the hopes of completely rewriting his biological code was held in the palm of his hand, and the lightness his heart felt when Jaehwan proclaimed himself as Hakyeon’s protector was in the slight turn of his head.

Hakyeon’s eyes are closed and he spins, flits around like a bird trying to fly away. The desperate way he holds himself echoes the way he hopes to find his mate—or anyone who could take away these heavy feelings from him. As he tries to talk with his body, sweat and tears fall to the wooden dance floor, little seeds of untold pain.

_I want to be a swan and take flight, too. It’s just…so hard. Help, somebody—help me._

When he finishes, he stretches his entire body and places his head on his left leg. It reminds him of a ballet move, but it’s one of extreme supplication—he just wants to be saved.

He doesn’t notice he’s been crying until his dance teacher hands him a small towel and Amber hands him a bottle of water.

“Are you all right, Hakyeon-oppa?” Seohyun whispers quietly, concerned. He smiles at her and nods through his tears. “I’m okay. Just caught in the heat of the moment. Your performance was stunning; I was inspired.” She blushes prettily and so does he—she’s so lovely.

He hopes she would find a protective and beautiful alpha, too.

In the world of alphas, betas and omegas—the people he held the most heart for were the betas. Beta households were common, but a household where an alpha took in a beta meant that they had no plans to raise a big family.

“Powerful demo, Cha Hakyeon. I hope whatever’s been bothering you will sort itself out soon.”  

+

“It’s the strangest feeling in the world, hyung.” Sanghyuk said softly to Taekwoon as they walked through the campus together. Taekwoon had to go back to grab his bag, and he didn’t want to leave Sanghyuk behind.

“How so?” Taekwoon asked in reply as they took a shortcut through the gym. It was already three in the afternoon and Taekwoon wasn’t willing to walk under the hot sun.

“Like…like I was missing a part of me for a long time. And when I saw that hyung—it was like I found it.” The older boy shot an amused smile at Sanghyuk. It was unlike him to be so…sappy.

“Still,” Taekwoon said quietly. “you need to be responsible. You’re an alpha now. A mated one still has responsibilities, but if you need any help, just call.”

Sanghyuk stuck his tongue out in reply. “You sure you aren’t just saying that because my mom would eat you alive if anything happened to me?”

The older alpha ruffled Sanghyuk’s hair affectionately and laughed. “Might be.”

“But hyung, I really hope you find your mate someday.”

Taekwoon looked straight ahead and chose not to comment. He didn’t know when he was going to meet his mate. He might have met them already and his mate just never acknowledged him. The doctor had explained that in some alphas, the urge to find their mate was kept dormant, until the mate recognized them.

“Meaning…an omega or beta has to know I’m an alpha?” he had asked. The doctor chuckled and shook her head. “No, no. It just means that your omega or beta has to realize you’re his or her mate.”

“Hey Hyogie?” Sanghyuk stared at Taekwoon at the mention of his childhood nickname. “Yeah, hyung?”

“How did you know that Jaehwan was your mate?”

Sanghyuk’s cheeks flushed deep red. “I…uh. I was hiding in the bathroom, waiting for you. And then he came in—when he talked, I just…felt like I could trust him. Like he wouldn’t hurt me. So when he said he was a beta…I believed him.”

The beta…wasn’t a beta? That was new. So Jaehwan…took beta shots. He’d heard it was possible for an omega to pretend to be a beta until they met their mate.

He wondered if Hakyeon did it, too.

“Ah.”

Sanghyuk snapped his fingers suddenly. “Oh! I also smelled cinnamon hot chocolate. My favorite smell.”

+

When the final bell rang, Hakyeon checked his phone again and there was a message from Jaehwan.

**Jyani** : Sorry hyung! I was in my last class. I’ll pick you up in ten minutes, will you be okay?

**Divayeon** : The last beta pill I took is still in effect—I’ll be fine til then. Thanks, Jaehwannie ;-;

**Jyani** : Don’t mention it, I’ll always be here for you. I can’t wait for you to meet my mate, he’s so cute! But…that hyung took him away—they’re cousins, apparently.

**Divayeon** : That hyung?

**Jyani** : The one who bumped into you in the cafeteria.

Oh.

_Oh._

Jung Taekwoon. The alpha. The alpha who looked at Hakyeon, but didn’t want to eat him. Possibly the only alpha in existence who had a shred of self-control.

Hakyeon’s throat went dry as he read the words on his cell phone. The omega waited until most of his classmates shuffled out, waving goodbye to Minhyuk and Amber.

“Wish you could come with, Hakyeon-hyung—we’re going to get ice cream after this.” Amber said as she gave Hakyeon a fist bump. “Nah, can’t. Gotta wait for Jaehwannie.”

Minhyuk murmured, “It’s been a long time since then, Yeon…are you sure you—“

Hakyeon gripped his phone tightly and stuck his free hand into his pocket. “I don’t know, Minhyuk. I can’t…stop the fear. After a couple of years you think I’d be free of it. But…I’m just not comfortable.” The last time Hakyeon had gone out on his own, he had gotten harassed by some alphas—and never forgot it.

“We can protect you too.” Amber placed a hand on Minhyuk’s shoulder and said quietly, “We can’t force him. Either way—we need to get going. Eunkwang’s waiting for us, right?” Minhyuk turned the slightest shade of pink and nodded. Hakyeon smiled and his body loosened up.

“Say hey to him for me.” Hakyeon said, and when they finally left the dance room, Hakyeon let his smile fall.

He wished he could just walk outside and not care about who touched him. But those years had been lost ages ago. Now, only Jaehwan—or his mate—could possibly soothe these fears.

After five minutes had passed, he received Jaehwan’s text and went outside to meet him. As soon as he swung the door open, duffel bag on his back—

He found himself on the floor, again. The strong smell of coffee hit his senses and before he realized what was happening, there was a hand extended towards him. It was Jaehwan’s hand. “Hyung? Are you okay?”

Hakyeon’s entire being trembled. He ignored Jaehwan’s hand for the time being and focused instead on the figure of a wide-shouldered, tall boy walking past the dance studio, too preoccupied with talking to someone else to mind him. Taekwoon was wearing black boots and a black coat and the entire thing just screamed alpha.

He knew this feeling—and it was different from the feeling in the cafeteria. Jaehwan was right; Taekwoon had been on alpha suppressants.

He’d also miscalculated the duration of his beta pills. He was now an omega—the most popular and wanted omega—and he was staring at the back of Jung Taekwoon.

And as if on cue, Taekwoon turned his head and stopped walking, his companion asking him “Hyung? What’s wrong? Why—Jaehwan-hyung!”

_Oh. That must be Jaehwan’s...friend? Mate?_ His thoughts were starting to become fuzzy. It was like nothing else mattered except this moment between himself and Taekwoon.

Taekwoon came closer, and each step seemed so slow and unbearable. He wanted Taekwoon by his side now—at any cost. He held onto Jaehwan’s hand and stood up, his heart threatening to jackrabbit out of his chest.

The omega inside of him screamed towards Taekwoon’s alpha, his body wanting nothing more than to press against him. One thing was clear.

“You…you’re my mate.”


	3. Angst and Dating Tips

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sanghyuk tightens his grip as Taekwoon squirms and hisses into his ear. “Hyung. Stop. That’s not just your mate—my mate is with him, and I will fight you if my mate gets hurt protecting yours.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will have the stupid dating story of RaBin. :3c and more neo angst, don’t let the ending fool you. Thanks for reading along and I hope you like the direction this is going.

_“You…you’re my mate.”_

The powerful scent of coffee assaulted him—a brew made from the finest coffee beans and it absolutely terrified him. Taekwoon’s blood is on fire and his alpha suppressants are weakening; no amount of pill-popping would hide him from his mate now.

He was scared. Those words sliding out of Hakyeon’s mouth (sweet, soft, perfect) feels like it’s straight out of a fever dream.

Too good to possibly be real.

Each step towards Hakyeon feels heavy, syrup-slow almost as he tries to rein in the alpha instinct inside of him that wants to jump and claim his mate. He pulls back and the alpha is displeased; fights even harder to get out and there’s a fog that’s starting to creep into his brain, dulling every sense except the desire for his mate.

Now he understands why Hyuk hadn’t resisted, and had straddled Jaehwan in the bathroom.

Taekwoon’s heart hammers wildly in his chest, the alpha inside of him demanding to be let out.

“Taekwoon?” His name coming from Hakyeon’s lips sound so sweet, and it makes his throat release a low growl.

_Oh dear god…could he not whisper my name like that?_

It was sweet and sinful, and he wanted more—if only he could get closer. But the human, his alpha realizes—the human aspect is thinking about things other than jumping on top of his mate (you can claim what’s already yours, can’t you?) and all he wants is to hear that voice groan out his name, to fuck into that body until Hakyeon is full of his cum.

At the same time…Taekwoon doesn’t want to. He doesn’t want it to happen here, right now. He didn’t want to rut into Hakyeon in public because his mate deserved something better than that. He desperately tries to pull himself from beneath the fog that the alpha is tugging him into.

_This is Hakyeon, Hakyeon. The boy you’ve watched from the sidelines for so, so long. He doesn’t deserve to be taken in public, put on show for all to see. He deserves the best linen, the softest bed; I’m not losing control._

_I can’t._

_I shouldn’t._

Taekwoon is fighting as hard as he can, each step towards Hakyeon and Jaehwan slower than the last. Hakyeon’s omega was screaming for Taekwoon’s alpha, and he can already feel himself grow excited, his hole slicking and calling out for his alpha.

But there’s also fear—the very real fear that Taekwoon will lose control and Hakyeon’s heart is nearly swelling; he knows that the slow pace is to give him time to run. And yet…he’s frozen to the spot, holding onto Jaehwan like a drowning man holds onto a piece of driftwood to pull himself to safety.

Taekwoon breathes, sweating now with the effort of keeping the mind-numbing fog of Hakyeon’s omega scent (delicious, like the best coffee in the world is in front of him, and all he has to do is to take that last step and TAKE) far away from his brain.

It’s almost too much to bear. For a second, his self-control breaks free.

The next few seconds happen so quickly it’s almost surreal.

Taekwoon’s nearly made it towards Jaehwan and Hakyeon…all he needs to do is to make that one last jump. But before he could, before he could leap and make a grab for Hakyeon, he feels strong warm arms hold onto his torso tightly, locking him into place.

He growls and struggles but Sanghyuk’s arms are firm, feet planted on the ground and Taekwoon’s stuck—they both aren’t going anywhere. Sanghyuk is thankful that he’s been growing well; he may not have Taekwoon’s broad shoulders but his arms are strong and toned from all the tennis matches he’s been playing for his high school.

Sanghyuk tightens his grip as Taekwoon squirms and hisses into his ear. “Hyung. Stop. That’s not just your mate—my mate is with him, and I will fight you if my mate gets hurt protecting yours.”

He may be a younger alpha, but his words are able to distract his older cousin long enough for Taekwoon to clear some parts of his brain from the fog brought on by desire. When his grip slackens and he slumps onto Sanghyuk, breathing heavily—this is when the younger’s eyes flash.

He and Jaehwan lock eyes and says in a very different voice: “ **Get out of here**.”

The alpha voice, when used on omegas is a full-body experience. Jaehwan feels it hit from his hair all the way to his toes, and he obeys. He picks up Hakyeon and starts to run in the opposite direction. Before he does, he mouths ‘I owe you one’ to Sanghyuk, who smiles and shakes his head.

‘I love you,’ Sanghyuk mouths—and he isn’t sure if Jaehwan’s speed doubles as he runs away because of the order or because he understood Sanghyuk’s lips. Like hell he was going to let his mate get hurt.

As Jaehwan and Hakyeon get further and further away, Taekwoon’s alpha releases a long, sad howl. It passes through Sanghyuk, hollow and sad. “Hyung, I don’t want you to get expelled either. I’m sorry.”

Taekwoon slumps down onto the floor, bringing Sanghyuk with him. When his shoulders begin to shake, it takes awhile for him to realize that his friendly, strong hyung was crying—over not being able to be with his omega.

He didn’t have that, because for the briefest moment, Sanghyuk and Jaehwan were able to touch, to feel each other’s skin beneath their fingertips. It was akin to being denied a bite of your favorite food, Taekwoon would describe later on.

“You’re right…” Taekwoon whispered through his tears as he leaned onto Sanghyuk, who embraced his cousin as they sat on the floor of the gymnasium’s long, long hallway. “but he was right there…” They both know that the elder alpha would never be able to forgive himself if it happened, however.

“If we allowed you to…” Sanghyuk bites his lip and leaves it hanging in the air. It was too heavy to speak of, right now. And it’s not what his hyung needs at the moment.

Sanghyuk’s hand moves up and grasps the soft hairs at the nape of Taekwoon’s neck and gently holds him that way, and it soothes the crying alpha. Reminds him of how his elder sisters would get him to stop crying.

Maybe his elder sister had found the time to relay it to Hyuk, and for that the elder was thankful. “Feel better now?” his younger cousin asks, when his tears have dried up and he’s just hiccupping now, small and vulnerable.

The sun begins to streak pink and gold on the horizon, and he nods.

“T-thanks, Hyogie. You’re…m-m-more responsible than I thought.”

“Well hyung—if you didn’t listen to me, I really would have had to fight you. And I think I would have lost that fight.” Sanghyuk was about to ask Taekwoon if they could go home now, when he spies something twinkling in the corner of his eye.

He bends down to pick it up, and smiles despite the tense situation. It was a tiny keychain figure of One Piece’s Chopper, and on the back was ‘L.J.’ scrawled in black marker. Stuffing it in his pocket, he turns to Taekwoon and then says, “Let’s get going. I’ll treat you to ramen today, hyung~ because we both found our soul mates.”

Taekwoon laughs. “Did you even get your paycheck yet?”

When he isn’t playing with the games at the local arcade, Sanghyuk works there part-time, usually helping out customers and handing out tokens. Lately though management had been paying him a bit extra to compete with customers—the catch being, if he loses to them, he’d get a pay cut.

And for Han Sanghyuk, that was more than enough motivation to do well.

“Nobody’s beaten me yet for a week—if I keep this up, I can probably buy the arcade!”

+

Jaehwan ran until he was out of breath, stopping at Hakyeon’s apartment. “I think this is far enough…they don’t know where you live, anyway.”

Hakyeon remains silent in his arms, and quietly disentangles himself from Jaehwan. “Yeah. You wanna come in?” His eyes were downcast and his mouth was set in a grim line, and he knows it’s more out of fear than anything else.

“Hyung…he won’t come after you. Sanghyukkie—“

There was tightness in his heart as Hakyeon gripped Jaehwan’s shirt. “That isn’t what I asked.”

The other boy sucked in a deep breath through his lips. His diva cousin was back. He thought about it for awhile, planned to go back to Hyuk after he dropped Hakyeon off at home. But there was no telling what a quiet Hakyeon was capable of, so Jaehwan nodded and said quietly, “Yeah. I’ll come in.”

Hakyeon had opted for an apartment and not a dormitory because he didn’t want a replay of his first year—of alpha males and females knocking down his door at all hours of the day—and had gone so far as to specifically request for beta and omega housing.

Their city was more than accommodating because they were determined to bring down the hefty number of alphas harassing and possibly sexually assaulting omegas, taking advantage of their vulnerable state when they were in heat.

Jaehwan glanced at Hakyeon’s back as the elder moved towards the bathroom. He was graceful and lovely without even trying, but his cousin knew the spiderweb of scars that lay underneath.

When the door closed and the shower was turned on, Jaehwan went inside Hakyeon’s kitchen and got a kettle running for tea, being mindful to pick out lavender. It had turned into their little ritual, really. Tea always soothed his friend’s fragile nerves.

As he waited for the water to boil, Jaehwan went inside Hakyeon’s bedroom and grabbed a fresh towel. When he was looking for his friend’s sleeping shirts, he accidentally knocked down a framed photo with his elbow.

“My bad!” he said out loud before kneeling down to pick it up. There was a soft smile that crossed his features when he propped the photo back up on Hakyeon’s nightstand.

He’d ask about it later.

+

Hakyeon went out of the bathroom, hair dripping and fresh from his shower. His sleeping shirt fit him loosely, and he followed the smell of lavender tea into the kitchen.

“I should thank him.” Hakyeon said softly, as Jaehwan pushed a white cup full of tea into his hands. “He was trying so hard.”

Jaehwan nodded, sipping his own cup of tea. “I take it back. I’m glad Taekwoon-hyung and Sanghyukkie are cousins.”

That pulled a small smile from Hakyeon, and he replied, “You’re just glad it’ll be easier to find them.”

“Well…around campus, at least. But hey…you feeling better?”

The elder glanced at his best friend and said softly, “Yeah. It isn’t that bad, really. I just…thought he was different, you know? His eyes were…his eyes…” he trailed off, unable to continue. Instead, he took a deep swig of tea, letting the liquid warm his insides.

“…his eyes weren’t like the others, hyung.” Jaehwan said softly. “He’s your mate. He could have, but he didn’t. What are you going to do now? Ignore him like you ignored—“

Hakyeon’s eyes shot up towards Jaehwan’s immediately, glaring at him.

“No. This isn’t going to be a repeat of last year. Besides…Wonshikkie has Hongbin now. I can’t ignore them. Not like I did with Eungkwan.”

Jaehwan gripped his cup a little tighter. “Yeah. But he’s been asking about you, hyung. You can’t keep avoiding him forever.”

Hakyeon only gave a shrug in reply, and Jaehwan knew what that meant.

“Hey—I never knew you had a picture of Taekwoon-hyung. Saw it in your bedroom.”

Hakyeon was grateful for the topic change, and punched Jaehwan lightly on the arm. “Nosy. Hongbinnie had that exhibit last autumn, remember?”

Jaehwan remembered, only because Hakyeon had messaged him over and over until he had agreed to go. “Yeah. That was after he met Wonshik.”

“Mm. That was one of the prints from his exhibit. I liked it, so he got me a copy.”

The photograph in question was titled “Autumn Breeze.” In Hakyeon’s room, in a black picture frame was a shot of Taekwoon standing under a large tree, swirls of orange and red leaves behind him. Taekwoon was wearing a coat and scarf, his eyes staring straight into the camera, mouth slightly parted open.

Two years before, Jung Taekwoon had merely been a mystery, and now they were mates. When Hakyeon smiled, thinking fondly of his new mate—his heart began to take on warmth like never before.

And in the distance, in the heart of the city, in his bedroom—Taekwoon glanced at his phone’s wallpaper and felt the heat rise up into his chest. Hakyeon was thinking about him.

_“When you meet your mate, there are times when they’ll be thinking about you, and you feel it. That’s how I knew I was going to marry your father, dear Taekwoon.”_

He remembers his mother’s words now, and feels relief that he had not managed to scare his mate away. His alpha rumbles, sweet and low. He’d managed to calm down after telling his parents all about it—about Hakyeon, about how hard he had fought.

They were glad of it, glad that their alpha son hadn’t violated school rules.

“How do I keep it under control though?” He asked his father over dinner. “The alpha.”

His father replied, “Mark your omega. While he may be your mate, if he isn’t marked—someone else might move into your territory. That’s what it’s so scared of.”

Taekwoon had almost forgotten about the marking, in his haste to control the alpha that wanted to devour Hakyeon whole. Without the mark, Hakyeon may have been mated, but still unclaimed. But how do you claim, how do you mark when your own mate stared into your eyes and trembled?

The answer hits him and he sighs as he lies down and prepares to drift off into sleep. He groans at the thought of what he would have to do next—the real reason why he’d never bothered to casually date around other omegas was that (apart from the romantic notion that he wanted Hakyeon) he had no idea what to do.

He grabs his phone and looks up at his group conversation with Wonshik.

**rawrberman** : what

**j.taekwoon** : you heard me. How’d you get Hongbin?

**rawrberman** : are you asking me for courtship tips?

**j.taekwoon** : do you want to help or not?

**rawrberman** : okay, okay. You don’t have class tomorrow, right? I’ll tell you over ice cream.

**j.taekwoon** : and coffee?

**rawrberman** : I regret introducing you to coffee sometimes, hyung. But yeah. I’ll call Hongbin and tell him to reserve our table. You gonna bring him along?

**j.taekwoon** : possibly. I don’t know his number though.

**Hyuk** : I’ll tell Jaehwan-hyung to bring him.

**rawrberman** : isn’t this cute even hyogie has more game than you hyung

**j.taekwoon** : …

( **j. taekwoon** has left the chat.)

( **j. taekwoon** has been added by **Hyuk**.)

**rawrberman** : I WAS JUST JOKING WE’LL HELP YOU

**j. taekwoon** : thank you.


	4. Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Do you believe in happiness?” Kim Wonshik asked Lee Hongbin, two years ago in a bar. They were both high school seniors, having a bit of fun while waiting for their acceptance letters. 
> 
> Hongbin laughed bitterly and knocked back a shot. “I’m a beta. There’s no such thing for someone like me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, here's the long overdue chapter ^^ Thank you for your patience! I had a lot of fun writing it, and there are...a lot of easter eggs. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy~
> 
> Because of the sexual content in this chapter I've bumped the rating up. ^^

 “Do you believe in happiness?” Kim Wonshik asked Lee Hongbin, two years ago in a bar. They were both high school seniors, having a bit of fun while waiting for their acceptance letters.

_If angels could look sulky, they would look a lot like this one._ Wonshik thought as he looked at the other boy’s reaction. Hongbin laughed bitterly and knocked back a shot. “I’m a beta. There’s no such thing for someone like me.”

“Ah…that’s not true.” The tequila made him feel brave enough to press forwards and kiss Hongbin, the taste of him far more intoxicating than the alcohol. “You don’t even know my name,” the other had said, his big brown eyes surprised as he pulled away.

“Does it matter?” He felt like a jackass—of course it was important, names mattered, but he was a high school senior tasting alcohol for the first time, and in front of a super hot boy. Frankly, there were few things that mattered to him right now.

And gauging from the other boy’s reaction, he felt the same way. The bartender pushed one more shot in front of them. “Hey—can I borrow your hand?” Wonshik’s cheeks were red, and he allowed the other boy to take his hand. Wonshik chuckled. The fingers that held his hand were small and delicate, but strong.

Hongbin still couldn’t believe he was doing this.

“I never knew angels took shots.” Hongbin chuckled as he poured salt onto the back of Wonshik’s hand.

“You’re drunk, so I’ll let that slide.”

“What’re you…?” The other boy asked, and Hongbin smirked. “I need a chaser for this one.”

Grabbing the shot glass, he drank the tequila and licked the salt off of Wonshik’s hand, feeling lightheaded. The gaze that the other boy gave him was downright predatory, and it filled Hongbin with more warmth than the alcohol did.

_Maybe this is the closest I’ll ever get to being drunk._ Hongbin thought as he smiled, showing off his dimples.

“Goddamn. I’m Wonshik.” As the last syllable rolled off of his tongue, Hongbin knew what he wanted, immediately. The name was unfamiliar but he was in front of a hot boy who wanted him—and rarely did Hongbin _ever_ say no to someone like that.

The next thing he knew, his body was being pressed up against a brick wall in an alleyway outside the bar. Hongbin’s zipper was pulled down and before he knew what was happening, a warm soft hand was inside, pushing at his briefs. It was uncoordinated and clumsy but still the hottest thing Hongbin had ever seen.

Hongbin bit out a moan when he felt Wonshik kneel down in front of him and pull his pants and underwear down, just enough so that his cock was exposed to the cold. The beta’s hands were in Wonshik’s soft hair and Hongbin whispered “You’re so fucking _hot,_ baby _._ ” He struggled not to come as he felt Wonshik take him in, his mouth wet and warm.

“Is this okay?” Hongbin asked, pulling out of Wonshik’s mouth before pushing back in, a bit further this time. His knees wanted to buckle when he felt his cock hit the back of Wonshik’s throat.

Hongbin felt enthusiastic suckling as Wonshik moaned around his cock in reply, holding onto his thighs for dear life. If his mouth wasn’t full of Hongbin’s cock, he might have said “Yes, fuck, don’t stop.” He was struggling to keep from coming, but Wonshik’s mouth was making it hard to concentrate—and his hips started to move all by themselves, thrusting in and out of the slick, wet heat. At one point, he felt Wonshik’s mouth go slack as he knelt and took it.

“Fuck,” Hongbin hissed as he felt Wonshik’s teeth graze the underside of his cock, and he was spilling deep inside of him, holding onto the other boy’s hair.

It was amazing, and one of the few times in his life where Hongbin actually felt like he was in control.

+

Wonshik stumbled out of the bar and back into his dorm room around 2:00am. His mouth felt dry as cotton and his knees ached. To top it all off, the last thing he remembered was of a brown-eyed angel stroking his cheek and calling him a good boy.

Out of all the quickies he’s ever had, that one _definitely_ took the cake. Jaehwan had been right—getting smashed was the perfect way to celebrate actually getting into university. Soon, he’d be in the same campus as his dormmate.

The only thing he remembered about the night at the bar was that he’d kissed and given an angel a blowjob. That was how things went, he guessed. People got drunk at bars and did stuff and never saw each other again. He could live with that.

Fate, however had another surprise in store for him.

Kim Wonshik never expected to see the same angel walk straight into his Algebra 101 class, 15 minutes late.

“Angel?” Wonshik asked. At first, he thought he’d gotten the wrong person, but the boy—Lee Hongbin, according to their professor’s roll call—looked at him and there was no mistaking it; even while he was drunk those soft brown eyes were still perfectly beautiful.

Even more so now that he was sober.

_I…sucked his dick outside a bar and I never thought I’d see him again, but shit. He’s still beautiful._ Wonshik’s mind was spinning and the air felt a bit too thin. He decided that he wouldn’t mind introducing himself a second time…if his classmate even remembered him. Hongbin’s face turned a slight shade of pink as he smiled, dimples on show. Definitely the same guy he knocked back shots with at the bar.

“H-hey, Wonshik…I have another class, so…I’ll see you tomorrow…” He ducked and walked away before Wonshik could even react.

Hongbin sucked in a breath of air as he walked (ran, really) away from Wonshik’s view. He needed to get to his next class and he really didn’t want to be late again. He’d finally been accepted to his dream university, only to wake up late.

Seeing the same guy who sucked him off at a bar though, that was the last thing on his mind. Even if he was a beta, Lee Hongbin was the type of guy who had no problem getting an invite or ten to bars from all over their city. He’d grabbed Gongchan and walked straight into a bar that had a _very_ hot guy performing onstage. And while Hongbin had a great grip on himself and his alcohol tolerance, there was something about the guy, stage name Ravi, performing that made him want a lot more—enough to allow Wonshik to blow him in an alleyway.

Hakyeon was _so_ going super-diva omega on his ass for that one.

+

No matter how busy Hakyeon was, he always made time to meet up with Hongbin once a week. Over time, they’d scheduled it as weekly brunch sessions. In Hongbin’s opinion, they seemed like weekly bitch sessions. Whenever they met up, they talked about things that annoyed them at home, or people that made their lives just a little bit harder.

It was just the thing they both needed to stay sane. As much as Hongbin loved his family, they were always going on about how disappointed they were about his beta results—the prime reason he wanted to get away from his family and attend university in the city.

Hakyeon, on the other hand had worries of his own. He talked about the beta/omega complex, and how he wished that he didn’t have to be so fearful (or depend on Jaehwan all the time.) This meeting wasn’t any different. Except today, Hakyeon’s gaze was more like a disapproving mother rather than the friend Hongbin’s known since he was little.

“Hyung, I was with Gongchan...” Hongbin stopped talking when Hakyeon gave him a death glare, violently slicing a bite of his cake. Somehow the knife didn’t hit the plate, which for Hongbin was a small mercy. “Gongchan? You should have taken more people with you!”

There were days when Hongbin liked Hakyeon being overprotective, but sometimes it was a little stifling. He’d had enough of it back home—which was exactly why he was happy enough to get into his current university.

“Most people were too drunk to do much…and besides, I’m not an omega, why are you so—“ The younger snapped his mouth shut and twirled his straw. That was a sensitive topic. “…regardless of your genetic makeup, Binnie. You and Gongchan could have been seriously hurt. What if an axe murderer jumped out at you two on your way home from the bar, or something?”

Hongbin had snorted into his fruit parfait. “Really? Axe murderers?” Hakyeon nodded sagely. “According to Jaehwannie they’re a real thing.” The younger chuckled at that and said quickly, “But hey—are you sure that it was Wonshik? Jaehwan-hyung’s dormmate, I mean?”

Hakyeon raised an eyebrow and replied, “Yes, I know it’s Wonshik—who else would call me at 4am interrupting my beauty sleep?”

The beta cocked his head to one side. “Wonshik called you?” the elder shook his head and pinched his nose with his thumb and forefinger. “No, no. _Jaehwannie_ called me and told me a story about his slurring dormmate about an angel he met at the bar. And as far as I know, Wonshik’s his only dormmate.”

Despite himself, Hongbin felt a wave of embarrassment rush through him, and it pulled him in deep. If Wonshik was able to tell Jaehwan about an angel, then that could only mean…

 “Oh…I see. So he remembered…?”

When Hakyeon gave him a puzzled look, Hongbin breathed a sigh of relief. “N-nothing, hyung…you know what happens when people get drunk.”

The older speared some cake onto his fork and chewed thoughtfully. “Something you want to tell me?”

_Shit._

Hongbin blinked, his big brown eyes widening. “W-why would you ask, hyung?”

Hakyeon shrugged. “You seem awfully interested in Wonshikkie.”

“Eh? Me? Interested? No way, it’s just, you know what happens when people get…drunk…at a bar…” Hongbin said, trailing off and taking a long sip of his drink.

The elder chewed on another bite of cake while grabbing his phone. “It’s not like it was y…oh holy _shit_ was it you?”

The beta refused to meet his eyes, which only made Hakyeon’s smile grow wider. “But you don’t get drunk…o-oh! Did Wonshikkie do anything you _didn’t_ like?”

Hongbin choked on his green tea latte and shook his head. “No he didn’t but—but hyung we just met, and…I didn’t want him to think I let…” he trailed off when the older gazed at him pointedly. He got the point.

That was why he was always by Hakyeon’s side whenever Jaehwan couldn’t, after all.

After taking Hakyeon to the beta/omega apartment complex, Hongbin started the long walk back to his own home, taking in everything that had been discussed that day.

Kim Wonshik—the famed tough guy who composed his own raps and took them to clubs—was his classmate. And Wonshik _remembered_ him. He whipped out his phone and wrote “to-do later: strangle Gongchan.”

Gongchan _swore_ that with Wonshik’s infamous ‘track record,’ he wouldn’t remember if Hongbin talked to him or not. He wasn’t drunk that night—not by a long shot—but he knew the underground rapper was. That was the main reason he’d been able to kiss a beta, right?

And now it turned out that Wonshik remembered _everything_.

Did fate hate him or something?

+

When Hongbin checked his class schedule at the end of the day, he wanted the ground to swallow him up. He was in at least three of Wonshik’s general classes.

Fate _definitely_ hated him.

“What’s the problem?” Jaehwan asked over their shared Art Appreciation class. They were partners in a presentation and had been given the rest of the period to divide up work between them. “So he just happens to be the same guy who gave you a blowjob…while he was drunk…and he remembers you…it could have been worse—unless he did a bad job. Did he do a bad j—wait no never mind I don’t want to know!“

Hongbin shushed him, cheeks flushed a hot pink. “Times like this I wish you took this class _ahead_ of me, hyung!”

Jaehwan leaned across his table over towards Hongbin’s and grabbed his dongsaeng’s hands, softer and daintier than Hakyeon’s—and as long as his hyung wasn’t in the room, he could freely admit that without getting killed.

“But was he good?”

Hongbin huffed. “I’m sure he’d be better if he wasn’t drunk.”

Jaehwan grinned. “So he _was_ good! You’re such a tsunder—OW!” Hongbin’s leg happened to nudge the omega’s chair. Slightly. So that it gently swayed out of balance.

Man, he was even more tsundere than _Misaki-chan_.

“I am so making you watch Maid-sama after this project,” he replied, straightening his chair. Hongbin was momentarily appeased, and his smile came out again. “That sounds like fun. I haven’t been able to find anything I was into after your last recommendation.”

With that particular friendship hurdle crossed, Jaehwan grabbed another piece of paper and they divided the work equally.

+

Later on, Hongbin realized he should have offered to do the entire project by himself. The microwave beeped, and Hongbin was really looking forward to grabbing a snack before watching the latest episode of “Sassy Moorim Boy.” He grabbed a bowl for the popcorn when suddenly, his phone beeped.

“You’re lucky I haven’t gotten the popcorn…” he muttered, checking the message.

**Raverman** : uhm…is this Hongbin?

He blinked. He was used to people randomly messaging him on KKT, but none of them were this polite. Maybe it was one of his classmates. Feeling a bit more relaxed at the thought, he started to reply while getting the popcorn out of the microwave.

**Park Hyobean** : new phone, who this?

**Park Hyobean** : Yeah, this is Hongbin. Sup?

**Raverman** : Oh! Ah…would you want to go out for coffee sometime?

**Park Hyobean** : I…don’t drink coffee

**Raverman** : Uhm that’s cool we can just get an iced tea or something…so…do you wanna go?

**Park Hyobean** : Sure, where do you wanna meet up?

**Raverman** : After class…

**Park Hyobean** : Sure, can’t wait.

Five minutes later, Hongbin stared at the conversation and murmured to himself, “…I have no idea who that was.” He shrugged and checked his phone’s calendar, just to make sure he had no other conflicting obligations during that time.

_Ah, shit. Supposed to meet up with Hakyeon-hyung to go shopping._ He sent a quick message to Hakyeon informing him of a little change in schedule before he tossed his phone onto the couch. He had a few minutes left to go before Sassy Moorim Boy started.

He transferred the popcorn into a bowl, placing it on the counter and grabbed a can of soda from the fridge. He grabbed the bowl and sat on the couch, the TV already turned on. To pass the time, he scrolled through his Twitter account to check if anyone had started live-tweeting the latest episode.

Or to check if his followers wanted the episode to be live-tweeted; he’d gotten quite a few complaints from his overseas followers last week. “As if I was just going to sit by while Ahn Chiang’s character was tortured…” Hongbin muttered to himself. The show was supposed to be great—if only the writers could get out of their angst camp for a little bit.

He’d barely gone through the first few tweets when a message popped up on his KKT.

**Divayeon** : What do you mean you accepted someone else’s invite?! We were supposed to go shopping after brunch!! (ง’̀-‘́)ง

**Park Hyobean** : Uh..Raverman wanted to get me iced tea. I was thinking of grabbing it and then going to our brunch, hyung… (ಥ﹏ಥ) (ಥ﹏ಥ)

**Divayeon** : Oh, okay. Tell Wonshik I want a triple-chocolate muffin, thanks!

**Park Hyobean** : ….what

**Divayeon** : Too little? Yeah…maybe add some beef to that since he just asked my precious dongsaeng out…

**Park Hyobean** : HYUNG!

**Divayeon** : What?

**Park Hyobean** : …Okay, I’ll ask him. I’ll talk to you later, the OP’s playing already.

**Divayeon** : Okay, okay. Have fun! ^^

As the theme song began to play, Hongbin wondered if it was too late to ask for an immediate transfer to another school. But in the end, he sighed and prepared himself for another school day, and to meet Raverman, Hongbin’s favorite underground rapper.

For iced tea.

Currently, he watched as Chiang finally managed to get his mother away from his father. “He’s not going to change, don’t go back to him.” Later on, the scene switched to Ahn Chiang being ostracized in school because it took awhile for him to warm up to people.

“Totally valid, and where’s Ye-Ji? …great. She’s shopping.” Hongbin gulped down his fruit soda as he watched Ye-Ji buy yet another bag for Chiang. “He’s just going to give it to his mom…”

He really hoped that the situation would look up for Ahn Chiang—it seemed like all the writers ever wanted to do was hurt him, or just match him up in situations that made no sense.

As Hongbin ate his snack and enjoyed the episode in peace, he wondered if he could just save himself the trouble of meeting up with Wonshik—he’d even do Jaehwan’s half of the project, if it came to that.

But somehow, just as he watched Ahn Chiang narrowly dodge a punch from Wang Tae-Pyung, he had a feeling that Jaehwan wouldn’t want to miss a second of it.

+

All in all, it wasn’t the worst date Hongbin ever had. They had decided to visit a dog café, where a very happy Jaehwan had showed them into the puppy pen as they waited for their food.

“You know Jaehwan-hyung?” Hongbin asked, as he cuddled a pretty little poodle. “Yeah, we’re in the same dorm.” Wonshik was currently scratching a black pug’s stomach and the other boy had to admit, it was pretty cute. “So what did you do last night?”

Hongbin shrugged. “Ah…watched TV. There’s this show I keep up with—you know Sassy Moorim Boy?” The alpha nodded, smiling. “Kinda wish that Chiang wouldn’t bother with Ye-Ji so much…” At that, Hongbin looked up from the toy poodle and said “I’m just waiting for the entire sword fight, you know? There’s no way they’d include it in the teaser if it wasn’t going to be in the show!”

“Oh I saw those,” Wonshik said as he let the little pug wriggle out of his hands and walk towards the dog house. “Ahn and Wang Tae-pyung were gonna fight, right? For Ye-ji?” Hongbin nodded, his lips settling into a pout. “Yeah, but all Chiang got was injustice.”

Hongbin and Wonshik ended up sitting in a corner, surrounded by puppies as they chatted about the TV show, hardly noticing when Jaehwan tapped them on the shoulder, informing them that their table was ready.

+

Taekwoon closed his eyes and pinched his nose bridge. “…Okay, so you two hooked up and that’s how you got together? And what does Sassy Moorim Boy have to do with it?”

Hongbin’s spoon clattered into his empty ice cream bowl. “Absolutely _everything,_ hyung!”

Wonshik placed a hand on Hongbin’s shoulder, keeping him from standing up. “What we’re trying to say is…well, I asked Hongbin out and we just found something to talk about.”

Taekwoon thought about it for a long while. “Okay. I’ll try. Wish me luck.”

How hard could planning a date be?


End file.
